Day 30: Civilization!

Yahoo, we made it back to civilization today- Del Rio, Texas!  And, no headwind today, maybe even a slight tailwind.  And, only 31 miles.  I'd call this a REST DAY.

We're starting to really appreciate Motel 6.  I think this is the 4th one on this trip we've stayed in.  Most of them have been remodeled, including this one.  The front desk staff are very friendly.  The air conditioning is nice and cold.  This one is located  next to a shopping mall and within walking distance to WalMart.  A dream come true.....

So, today's activities included lunch at Applebee's.  This is a BIG DEAL after days of just "road food".  We had the 2 for $20 special - 2 entrees plus an appetizer.  I never could have imagined eating that much food before this trip, but today, we ate it all.

"Road food"......chips, candy bars, pop tarts, peanuts, granola bars.  An occasional banana or apple is a real treat.  Crackers, canned sardines, cheese....stuff you can get at a gas station convenience store that doesn't require any preparation.  This is the stuff we have to live on during these stretches where there are no real grocery stores.  Rick's favorite chip seems to be plain old Lays Potato Chips; I have been indulging in my penchant for Frito's Corn Chips.  Candy:  Snickers (Rick) and Butterfingers (me).  Nuts:  Flamin' Hot Peanuts (Rick) and Honey Roasted (me).  Favorite granola bar (both) -- Clif's White Chocolate Macadamia Nut.  Getting enough protein for our muscles to repair is a real challenge, especially since we only eat fish.  Lately we've really been into the canned tuna and sardines.  (I'm so grateful that I learned to love canned sardines as a child; my mom used to make sardine sandwiches and my brother and I used to eat sardines on saltine crackers on my dad's boat.)

The Adventure Cycling (AC) tour group caught up with us today in Del Rio.  We ran into almost the entire group while shopping at WalMart this afternoon.  Joe, their leader, invited us to join them at dinner tonight at a Chinese buffet, which just happened to be about a block away from our motel.  So besides Applebee's, we pigged out at the buffet on shrimp, salmon, vegetables, and chocolate ice cream.  It was really good to see Ed, Olaf, Berit, John, Kelly and the others again.

So...today I am really thankful.  Not just to be back in civilization, but for all the friends and family out there who have been following us and providing encouragement.  A special thanks to Patti Wren, who is printing out our blog posts and giving them to Rick's dad, Sid.  Thanks to Ben & Katie Thompson, Neil & Barbara Wheeler, Jay & Cherie Guerin, Dennis & Lyndsey Morris, and Karen Siebeck and Norm Smith -- all the people who responded with encouragement after the last two days of difficulty.

It's amazing what some rest and food will do.  We're feeling good and continuing ONWARD!  Tomorrow we head out through Bracketville towards Camp Wood, destination Big Oak River Camp.  The AC group is supposed to be there also, so we'll have company along the way and tomorrow night.